Houthis seize key Yemen town as they advance toward Taiz

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have captured the key southwestern town of Turbah, tightening their grip around Yemen's strategic city of Taiz as Saudi-backed government forces launched a counteroffensive against the rebels.

The fall of Turbah on Sunday came shortly before Yemen's internationally recognised government announced a major military operation aimed at reclaiming territory held by the Houthis, marking a sharp escalation in a civil war that had been largely restrained by a four-year ceasefire.

Turbah lies on the main road connecting Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, with Aden, the interim seat of the government. It had long served as an important position for government forces defending Taiz against the Houthis.

The rebels had already captured several villages and areas on the outskirts of Taiz in recent advances, raising fears that they could further encircle the provincial capital.

Houthis expand territorial gains

The latest Houthi offensive began with a rapid push along Yemen's western Red Sea coast in early September. The rebels captured the strategic port city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands, giving them control over Yemen's side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a major global shipping chokepoint through which about 12 per cent of global trade passes.

The Saudi-backed government said Sunday it was mobilising forces across areas under its control.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said the military operations were intended to "recover the remaining territories" controlled by the Houthis and called on the international community to support his government.

Saudi military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki later pledged "full operational support" to Yemeni government forces until the Houthis were "eliminated".

Al-Malki also said Saudi Arabia had the right to take measures to deter the rebels, who have continued launching missiles and drones towards the kingdom during the nearly three-month escalation.

Government forces launch counterattack

Saudi-backed factions said Monday they had begun offensives against Houthi positions on the eastern flank of areas recently seized by the rebels along the Red Sea coast.

Government forces attacked Houthi positions in Dhubab, a town near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, said Col. Majed al-Nazili, a spokesperson for the Saudi-backed forces.

The Giants Brigades, a government-allied force, also announced what it called a "decisive military operation" against the Houthis in the Bab el-Mandeb area.

Al-Alimi said the operation, dubbed "Yemen Dawn", had begun with the goals of restoring state institutions, retaking Sanaa, the rebel-held capital, and ending what he called the Houthi "coup".

The latest escalation began in mid-July, when the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Sanaa airport to prevent an unauthorised Iranian flight from landing. The rebels responded with missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and government forces in Yemen.

They also announced a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea and attacked several vessels.

The campaign intensified in September, when the Houthis launched their biggest territorial offensive in years along the Red Sea coast.

The capture of Turbah could significantly hamper government forces' ability to reinforce and resupply positions across Taiz province, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.

The think tank said control of the roads around Turbah could not only disrupt government supply lines but also prevent forces north of the town from withdrawing from the area.

Conflict deepens humanitarian crisis

Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and forced the internationally recognised government into exile in Saudi Arabia. The conflict has since caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and killed more than 150,000 people.

The latest escalation has killed more than 800 people and wounded more than 3,600, according to the United Nations. More than 145,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen, while over 3,000 others have fled across the sea to Djibouti, according to the UN migration agency.

The conflict is also putting further pressure on Yemen's already fragile health system.

Yemen's health ministry, which is part of the internationally recognised government, warned last week that fighting was disrupting medical services across Taiz province. In a statement Friday, it said health facilities in coastal, western and southern parts of the province had either closed or were operating only partially.